Ithought it was a tall tale until I saw this.......

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Phil Cook
('[email protected]') wrote:

> MatSav <m a t t h e w D O T s a v a g e A T d s l D O T p i p e x D
> OT c o m> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:15:02 +0000 (UTC), "vernon levy"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>As I quizzed a colleague about Baines Flying Gate frames and how
>>>unusual
>>>they were. He told me about a side by side tandem that he was given a
>>>go
>>>on. As he is fond of a joke, I did a quick search of the Internet to
>>>disprove his claims and came up with this...
>>>
>>>http://www.citynoise.org/article/917
>>>
>>>apparently they are called sociable tandems. Never seen one before
>>>and they can cope with the imbalance between body weights of the two
>>>riders
>>>
>>
>>The link gives a blank page, as does trying to go up the tree two
>>branches. However, I do know that sociable tandems are used for
>>companion cycling with blind people in Bushy Park (South West London).
>
> Some pictures of one in use, some with very different weights on
> either side, here http://home.vicnet.net.au/~tandem/gallery03.htm

H'mmmm... obviously isn't that hard to ride as lots of people managed it.
Also, see the pictures (bottom of page) of adults riding with small
children, so lateral balance clearly isn't as critical as one might
think. This layout would be fairly easy for a bike bodger to bodge, too,
given two reasonably similar donor bikes.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; killing [afghan|iraqi] civilians is not 'justice'

 

[Jim Price]

vernon levy wrote:
> As I quizzed a colleague about Baines Flying Gate frames and how unusual
> they were. He told me about a side by side tandem that he was given a go
> on. As he is fond of a joke, I did a quick search of the Internet to
> disprove his claims and came up with this...
>
> http://www.citynoise.org/article/917
>
> apparently they are called sociable tandems. Never seen one before and they
> can cope with the imbalance between body weights of the two riders
>
> Anthing odder out there?.

Well, there's this:
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/motorwhl/motorwhl.htm#soc
OK, that probably never existed, but some of the others on the page have.

JimP

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Jim Price
('[email protected]') wrote:

> vernon levy wrote:
>> As I quizzed a colleague about Baines Flying Gate frames and how
>> unusual
>> they were. He told me about a side by side tandem that he was given a
>> go
>> on. As he is fond of a joke, I did a quick search of the Internet to
>> disprove his claims and came up with this...
>>
>> http://www.citynoise.org/article/917
>>
>> apparently they are called sociable tandems. Never seen one before
>> and they can cope with the imbalance between body weights of the two
>> riders
>>
>> Anthing odder out there?.
>
> Well, there's this:
> http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/motorwhl/motorwhl.htm
> OK, that probably never existed, but some of the others on the page
> have.

Wow! Madness! Has anyone here actually ridden one of those things? Danny?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; single speed mountain bikes: for people who cycle on flat mountains.

 

[Danny Colyer]

Simon Brooke wrote:
>>http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/motorwhl/motorwhl.htm
>
> Wow! Madness! Has anyone here actually ridden one of those things? Danny?

Sadly not, as much as I'd love to. I was disappointed a few years ago
to discover that someone had built and ridden one at Bath University
just a few years after I graduated (click on the link above and search
within the page for "Geraint Owen").

A few more links:
<URL:http://www.jackiechabanais.com/> (look at the Monoroue and the
Tractorue)

<URL:http://americanroadshop.com/The_Monocycle/the_monocycle.html>

There's a water monocycle at the bottom of this page:
<URL:http://www.unicycling.com/garage/special.htm>

This Chinese monocycle went into production a few years ago, I don't
know if they're still available for sale:
<URL:http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/unicycle/images/monocycle_girl.jpg>
<URL:http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/unicycle/images/monocycle_jack.jpg>

Somewhere I've probably still got a beer advert that I cut out of a
newspaper years ago, showing a gentleman sitting in a motorised
monocycle and supping a pint.

--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Subscribe to PlusNet <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/referral/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Naqerj]

Tim Hall wrote:

>
> A possible pedant writes:
>
> I believe it should be called a sociable, not a sociable tandem.
> Tandem implies the riders in line astern.

You are quite right.

> See also "Black Beauty"
> where horses are driven in tandem (one behind the other) or as a pair
> (next to each other).
>

It's the horse thing that the word comes from. 'Tis a joke [1] in Latin
- in which tandem means "at last".

[1] Using the word joke in its loosest possible sense.

--
Andrew

 

[Jeremy Parker]

> >> on. As he is fond of a joke, I did a quick search of the
Internet to
> >> disprove his claims and came up with this...
> >>
> >> http://www.citynoise.org/article/917
> >>
> >> apparently they are called sociable tandems.

[snip]

> Wow! Madness! Has anyone here actually ridden one of those things?
Danny?

I remember, from when I lived in the USA, that there was a company in
New York City, I think it was, that made sociables, but that must
have been about 25 years ago now. I saw one being demonstrated
once - being ridden on rollers - so the street is presumably no
problem. The one I saw had handlebar mounts that folded inwards, so
you could put the bike in a normal bike box, to take it on
aeroplanes.

Jeremy Parker